Madison — Run the ball when we want and when the defense knows what is coming.

That is the No. 1 goal of the members of Wisconsin’s offense this season.

It was a goal UW failed to achieve last season.

“We know what we’ve got to accomplish,” said Paul Chryst, entering his second season as UW’s head coach. “I didn’t think we could consistently run the football against everyone like we wanted to. That’s what we’re striving to do.”

To review from 2015:

UW averaged just 150.3 rushing yards per game. That was the No. 10 mark in the Big Ten, 94th nationally and UW’s worst performance since the 1995 team averaged 128.9.

Beginning in 2007, UW averaged at least 200.8 per game in eight consecutive seasons.

UW, which averaged 320.1 in 2014, struggled last season because of instability and inexperience on the offensive line and because tailback Corey Clement missed most of the season after suffering a sports hernia.

UW averaged 4.1 yards per run on first down and 3.7 on second down. Those numbers were down from 7.2 and 7.4 in 2014.

“Last year we kind of struggled, especially early,” redshirt sophomore center Michael Deiter said. “That is why you come to Wisconsin. You want to run the ball.

“We want to go back to that bread and butter, the ground-and-pound style, but still be able to protect the passer. We take pride in that, too, but we’ve got to get back to that run game.

UW has three solid options at tailback in Clement, Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal. Injuries in camp and the loss of oft-injured Dan Voltz, who decided to walk away from football, have raised questions about the state of the line entering the opener against LSU on Sept. 3 at Lambeau Field.

Chryst hopes UW can replicate its performance in the final two games last season, when the Badgers started four redshirt freshmen on the line in the regular-season finale at Minnesota and in the Holiday Bowl against USC.